Survey: DL to Port or SD Hotel

[fantasmicfantastic]

My family and I (including a two-year-old) are visiting Disneyland for a few days next October, which will transition to a 4-night Baja DCL cruise out of Sand Diego on a Monday. Should I spend Sunday night in Anaheim to get an extra day in DL, or should I check out on Sunday and stay at a hotel near the port on Sunday night? I'm a little nervous about the drive from Anaheim to SD on the day of the cruise. I'd love to hear your opinions. TIA!

 

[dcassetta]

You might consider Amtrak. They run from the station in Anaheim to SanDiego, just a few blocks from the cruise port.

 

[LizGirl]

The traffic in that area makes me nervous! I think I'd drive to SD Sunday night to play it safe.

Flip side - I drove from Costa Mesa to Carlsbad in about an hour during evening rush hour a couple of weeks ago when I was out there for work. I have no idea if morning is better or worse.

 

[DLgeeks]

We're doing something similar next May and just planning on driving down the morning of. Even with traffic it's not usually more than 1 1/2-2 hrs to get down so as long as you leave mid morning and give yourself plenty of time you should be fine. The nice thing about Southern CA is that there always alternate routes to take if there's a major accident.

 

[jrabbit]

So Far, I am the contrarian... I voted for staying an extra day at Disneyland. The Drive to San Diego is not that bad AND my assumption is that this is your first cruise, so you probably will not get a Port Arrival Time before noon.

If you leave DL around 10 am you should be in downtown San Diego in about 2 hours (probably less). That's noon. If for some reason traffic heading out of Anaheim is horrible AND traffic into San Diego is horrible, you've possibly added 2 hours to your drive and it's still only 2pm (and my DW would be getting nervous at that point)

Since you have a very little one, you could consider leaving DL even a day earlier, so that you could spend a day a Legoland - It's a great place for kids (and yea, 2 is still a little young). Legoland it really targeted to the 5 - 12 year olds. We visited earlier this year and my "little guy" is 28 years old - and we had a very good time there. Lots of amazing creativity!

 

[mmmears]

We are planning an Oct cruise also (maybe even the same one?), and I suspect we will go to DL first but I haven't booked anything yet. Our plan is to stay one night by the port. That way we can check out SD (haven't been there in a while) and have a relaxed morning walking to the ship. I'm also considering the SD Zoo or the Wild Animal Park. The Legoland suggestion was a good one. We took our DD when she was little and it was fun.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We're doing the same in May 2019 for the West Coast Member's Cruise. Just booked a room at the Marriott right near the port for the night before. Not worth the hassle and nerves (hardly any traffic here in NM) driving on CA roads.

 

[xoxoallieann]

Anaheim to San Diego is a quick drive, even with traffic you're looking at less than 3 hours max. It's also a fairly straightforward and easy route. I'd definitely stay at Disneyland for another day.

 

[nancyjo1998]

You can stay part of they day Sunday at Disneyland and drive down to San Diego Sunday evening when your done. Then when you wake up Monday morning you can walk to the port. Easy stress free way to start your cruise.

 

[ScooterScott44]

We live east coast but my work HQ is just north of San Diego. Agree that Amtrak is an option, we have done from SD up to DL after work meetings and the train is easy and some great coastal views. The drive is not horrible most of the time but can get heavy at peak times.

In reality, don’t stress yourself and ruin your time in DL. If you would be worried hold the bags at the resort and drive down Sunday evening. I agree the Monday morning drive is do-able. The option is to get up a little earlier and budget some travel time that way, if you want to be at the port ASAP. If you are not worried about trying to be the first at the buffet then you have plenty of time for the Monday morning drive.

 

[Sun_soakin]

We stayed at DL and drove down in the morning when we took one of the Mexico cruises. It wasn’t stressful at all...I’d do it the same way again

 

[fantasmicfantastic]

Thank you all for the suggestions and feedback!
After reading your responses, I think I would have plenty of time driving to the port on Monday, but I will err on the side of caution and just stay in SD on Sunday night. Does anyone have any suggestions on hotels next to the port and parking for the length of the cruise?

 

[mmmears]

We booked at the Wyndham San Diego Bay for now. It came up in the cruise group and it sounds like you can use it for parking during the cruise, too. It's pretty much across the street from where the ship will dock. I'm considering fun resorts instead, but then we lose the ability to walk to the ship, so I will likely keep what we booked.

 

[ludari]

I would recommend that you stay the extra day at Disneyland and take Amtrak train from Anaheim to SD and walk the two blocks to the ship (you may want to uber since you have a small child). I've taken the Amtrak train from LA to SD to catch my Disney Cruise twice and didn't have any problems. Obviously if you are driving from Anaheim to SD I recommend you leave early but trust me the train is inexpensive, fast, you can relax and you don't have to deal with the traffic. I always board the first train just to make sure I arrive with plenty of time to spare but I'm sure you don't have to do that if you don't want to. Good luck with your decision.

 

[mocodis]

We have done a few cruises out of San Diego. From LA to SD is a little less than 2 hour drive. First time, we drove to SD the day before and stayed at the Wyndam. Last time, we drove to SD the morning of. Left at 9am, about a 2 hour drive, we were onboard before noon. Easy drive, some traffic. And we did a one way rental car, dropped off car in SD few blocks from the port, then walked to the port.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

We're staying at the Marriott Spring Hill Suites San Diego Bay Front. It's right across the street from the port. Got a good deal calling the hotel for our May cruise, $220 + taxes.

Don't know about parking; we're flying in.